Review: A Hero Named Hope – S/T

December 2nd, 2009 by Oswald Hobbes / Comment on this post

These guys may call themselves A Hero Named Hope, but they have a lot more in common with a villain called Skeletor. According to Wikipedia (I’m serious), Skeletor is a “muscular bluish humanoid.” That description fits AHNH’s music pretty much to a T: their blend of brute punk strength and proggy flights of instrumental fancy is plenty muscular; their lyrics skew to the melancholy (or, ahem, blue); and the rhythm section locks into these grooves so tightly and effortlessly that they seem almost robotic – although AHNH’s promo pictures prove they are at least partially human. Once these guys (and one girl) are ready to accept to their true nature and turn their powers toward evil, they’ll be totally unstoppable. As it stands, they’re still pretty fucking good.

Right off the bat, A Hero Named Hope is masterful. Lead-off track “I Invented The Web Shooter” begins with a brief flourish of electronic fanfare and then the band comes charging in at full force, maybe to save the day but more likely to cause mass destruction, considering their arsenal: the twin guitar attack of Adam Hendle and Brad Melody shooting frantic riffs in every direction while Joe Cavin demolishes his kit. (The drumming is seriously so good that my girlfriend shot up in bed and proclaimed “That drummer is so good!” when I popped this disc in for the first time.) Brittany Gignac pipes in some pretty keyboard bits to offset the carnage, and Jason Williams’ sturdy basslines keep the chaos somewhat structured. Add Kyle Smith’s vocals, twisting in and out of the mix like some kind of Geddy Lee with actual testicles, and you’ve got a recipe for real punk rock success.

This is the formula for the seven songs collected here, and it’s a damn good one. Variations add welcome spice: the brutal breakdown on “Kevin, You’re Such A Disease” (nice Home Alone joke, BTW) is interspersed with gentle guitar work and some really beautiful singing by Smith, which is a nice twist on a genre stand-by. That’s one of the ways that A Hero Named Hope keep their tasty blend compelling. Another: instead of the mindless shredding that plagues similar bands like Fall of Troy, Hendle and Melody keep their riffage concise and economical, stashing tasty little nuggets throughout the record but never launching into self-indulgent noodling. A Hero Named Hope is a record with a lot of moving parts, but if you listen closely everything starts snapping together and making perfect sense.

Which is not to say that this record is perfect; I could have used a little more variety in the songwriting. And an actual ballad would have been cool – Smith has the voice to carry one. But this EP is a great step forward for these guys. It’s an accomplished and tuneful collection that displays real chops, and I look forward to whatever they do next. Who knows – maybe they’ll destroy Eternia with pure rock firepower.